A Japanese court on Thursday acquitted an 88-year-old former boxer, Iwao Hakamada, of a 1966 quadruple murder, overturning a conviction that had made him the world’s longest-serving death row inmate.
Hakamada’s acquittal by the Shizuoka District Court marks the fifth time a death row inmate in postwar Japan has been found not guilty at a retrial. The case, given Japan’s more than 99% conviction rate, could reignite the debate over abolishing the death penalty in Japan.
Hakamada’s lawyer, Hideyo Ogawa, said the court determined that evidence was fabricated and planted by investigators, exonerating Hakamada.
Following the verdict and its explanation, Hakamada’s 91-year-old sister, Hideko Hakamada, emerged from the courthouse with a beaming smile, greeted by cheers and flower bouquets. This marked the end of her 58-year long battle to clear her brother’s name.
“Thank you, everyone, we won an acquittal,” she told reporters at a televised news conference. “When I heard the main sentence, it sounded almost divine. I was so touched and could not stop crying with joy.”
Hakamada was initially convicted in 1968 of the 1966 murders of an executive and his family, along with setting fire to their home in central Japan. Despite his death sentence, he avoided execution due to Japan’s lengthy appeals and retrial process, a system notorious for its slow pace.
He spent 48 years behind bars, with more than 45 of them on death row, making him the world’s longest-serving death row inmate, according to Amnesty International.
Ogawa said he requested prosecutors not to appeal the verdict, an option available to them, but was informed that they hadn’t made a decision.
The lawyer also disclosed that the defense team is considering a lawsuit against the government, seeking to understand the troubled investigation. If the verdict stands and the prosecution does not appeal, Hakamada will be eligible for compensation.
It took 27 years for the highest court to deny Hakamada’s initial appeal for a retrial. His sister filed a second appeal for a retrial in 2008.
This appeal was approved in 2014 after a court found evidence suggesting Hakamada’s wrongful conviction. While not acquitted, he was released from prison and allowed to await retrial at home due to his poor health and age, making him a low risk for escape.
Despite this, the case bounced between several courts until one finally ruled in Hakamada’s favor in 2023, setting the stage for the retrial, which started in October.
Following his arrest, Hakamada initially denied the accusations, but later confessed. He later claimed that the confession was coerced through violent interrogation by police.
“I have nothing to do with the case … I am innocent,” he wrote in a letter to his mother while on trial in 1967.
On Thursday, the court ruled that five pieces of bloodstained clothing, presented by investigators as having been found hidden in a tank of fermented soybean paste (miso) a year after Hakamada’s arrest, must have been planted long after the arrest.
The court cited scientific experiments that showed the bloodstains should not have been visible on clothing soaked in miso for a year. The ruling concluded that investigators, who had previously claimed Hakamada wore the clothes during the crime, had applied the bloodstains themselves and planted the clothing.
According to defense lawyers and earlier court rulings, the blood samples did not match Hakamada’s DNA, and trousers presented by prosecutors as evidence were too small for him.
The ruling on Thursday also blamed the prosecutors for forcing Hakamada into a false confession through “inhumane” interrogation.
Ogawa, Hakamada’s lawyer, praised the ruling as “groundbreaking” for explicitly stating the prosecution fabricated key evidence at the outset. “I believe this ruling puts an end to the case. … Now we must prevent prosecutors from appealing no matter what.”
After Hakamada was sentenced to death, he expressed fear and anger at being falsely accused.
“When I go to sleep in a soundless solitary cell every night, I sometimes cannot help cursing God. I have not done anything wrong,” he wrote to his family. “What a cold-blooded act to inflict such cruelty on me.”
Hakamada, whose Christian name is Paulo, was invited to a Mass in Tokyo during Pope Francis’ visit in 2019, five years after his release.
Supporters say Hakamada’s nearly half-century detention had a devastating impact on his mental health. He spent most of his 48 years behind bars in solitary confinement. For the first two months after his release, he paced constantly in his apartment without venturing outside, according to his sister.
She persuaded him to help her with groceries, getting him to leave the house. Going for walks became his daily routine, although he now relies on a car and his supporters for outings due to his reduced mobility.
The case has raised concerns about Japan’s legal system and drawn criticism. The Chairperson of the Japan Bar Association, Reiko Fuchigami, urged the government and parliament on Thursday to swiftly take steps to abolish the death penalty and make retrials more accessible.
“The Hakamada case clearly shows the cruelty of the wrongful death penalty, and the tragedy should never be repeated,” she said, expressing hope that Hakamada regains his freedom and enjoys peace as a citizen.
At a final hearing at the Shizuoka court in May before Thursday’s decision, prosecutors again demanded the death penalty, prompting criticism from human rights groups who argued that the prosecution was trying to prolong the ordeal.
Japan and the United States are the only two countries in the Group of Seven advanced nations that still maintain capital punishment. A survey conducted by the Japanese government found that a large majority of the public supports executions.
Executions in Japan are conducted in secrecy, and prisoners are unaware of their fate until the morning of their hanging. In 2007, Japan started disclosing the names of those executed and some details of their crimes, but information remains limited.
Hideko Hakamada has dedicated nearly half her life to her brother’s case. Before Thursday’s verdict, she described the fight as endless.
“It is so difficult to get a retrial started,” she told reporters in Tokyo. “I’m sure there are other people who have been wrongly accused and crying. … I want the criminal law revised so that retrials are more easily available.”